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The World Bank has priced its M$760mn Islamic debt securities – the World Bank’s first Islamic debt issue and the largest Malaysian ringgit issuance by a supranational organisation to date.


The bonds, structured under the syariah principle of Bai Bithaman Ajil, will be known as the World Bank Wawasan bonds.


The securities have received indicative credit ratings of AAA by Standard & Poor’s and Aaa by Moody’s Investors Service.


The joint lead managers are ABN Amro and Commerce International Merchant Bankers Berhad. 


The book-building process commenced on April 27 and closed two days later. The issue was 1.9 times oversubscribed and was priced at a profit rate per year of 3.58% payable semi-annually. The joint lead managers claim that demand for the issue was very strong, and bids were submitted by a diverse group of investors.


“We are very pleased with the results of the book-building and the pricing of our debut ringgit issue. With the increasing depth of the Malaysian capital markets, we hope to maintain a presence in this market in the future,” says Hiro Tsubota, principal financial officer of the World Bank.